Rainbow hair is too mesmerising to look at but the day-long bleaching process can be discouraging, especially if your natural hair is black, brown or brunette. However, a brilliant hairstylist Caitlin Ford has yet again proved that we can always rely on Instagram and artist’s innovations for a better-looking experiment. Caitlin is a St. Louis-base hair pro and she came up with a technique she named “Velvet Vivids.” This process involves lightening the hair in the way you do traditional highlights instead of bleaching your hair from roots to tips before you add the rainbow dye colours.

“The result is a softer rainbow effect that works well on darker hair because it doesn't need to be lightened as severely,” Ford shared with an online portal.

Ford also told the publication that it isn’t a technique to be achieved at home so you would want to book your appointment at your salon and consult. She explained, “you really need to know colour theory and have experience formulating hair-colour to know what shades to mix and to lighten the hair in the most controlled way.”

The process begins by brushing on bleach with a lower volume developer as the traditional hair are supposed to go three shades lighter than the natural colour. After highlights are done, one is left with “brassy orangey-yellow colour,” so then Ford mixes up concentrated rainbow dyes that’ll blend well with the orange in the highlights. Then, she applies those in a rainbow gradient. Depending on the thickness of your hair, the entire process might take three to five hours, the hairstylist revealed. But it’s worth it. Your hair is still healthy and the result is a subtle rainbow on your hair for a few months. It’s low-maintenance, strand-friendly and the way it’s patterned, it’s easy to replicate it over and over again.